The 'Eva', as it is colloquially known in filmmaking circles is a new kid on the block and really packs a big punch in a small package
Released in late 2017 to much hype, the EVA1 ticked the boxes and then some: supersized 5.7k S35 sensor, dual native-ISO, removable IR cut filter, the Varicam's colourimetry, and with a very competitive price tag at 7,4995 USD - what's not to like?
Described by some as the 'trickle-down' Varicam, the EVA not only boasts some of the shared features of the Varicam, but also some aspects which surpass that of the more-than-twice-as-expensive Varicam LT.
I got acquainted with this camera in preparation for an ambitious short film shoot in spring and autumn of 2018. As camera operator, my job was to learn this newcomer inside out: its weaknesses, its strengths, its quirks. What I found was pleasing - a compact, capable companion with a surprising amount of power though it arguably lacks a few really cool features.
This was a short film shoot with the approach that data isn't an issue, get the camera to spit out the best image it can was the objective. With this in mind, outputting RAW via 6G SDI out to an Atomos Shogun Inferno recorder was the way to go. Panasonic and Atomos had announced a partnership in earnest of the camera's release and were definitely the favoured option compared to what Convergent Design were publicising in relation to the EVA. We were recording at 4K CDNG 10-bit RAW @ 24fps standard-motion scenes & 2.2k DNxHR RAW @ 240fps for hispeed sections.
If you're going to compare this camera to others on the market you'd be looking at the FS7 II, the Ursa Mini Pro 4.6k and the Canon C300, roughly. All more-or-less 'entry-level' cinema cameras, all with their own strengths and weaknesses and relevancies to the way YOU plan to shoot; I suppose this is the crux of the matter, what is the strength to weakness ratio, and how does it affect you? Put simply.
Basics & Specs
Some would say it's a strange decision for the EVA to come with an EF mount as standard, some would say a business-minded decision; I would say both. A camera which technically covers the 'cinema' market and with a price tag of 7,000+ you're going to assume filmmakers are going to put some serious glass in front of this thing, but why not EF lenses? The EF mount is the most produced lens mount ever made and there's tons of great lenses. Thankfully though for those PL and cine lens enthusiasts, Wooden Camera have made an EF>PL mount for all you cine glass lovers, though it should be noted, mounting one of these on your lens WILL void the warranty (Companies do offer this service free of charge with purchase of both items, for instance CVP.com). We paired the EVA with a beautiful set of Samyang Cine XEEN lenses on the shoot and found they performed well.
Panasonic have yet again appealed to a larger consumer market in its decision to go with SD cards as its chosen recording media. 2 slots are located towards the camera's rear. A broad-appeal feature aimed at appeasing the sect of comparatively lower-budget filmmakers using SD cards instead of the more up-to-date CF 2.0, XQD cards, or the more agile SSD cards. UHS-II cards are the recommended media type by Panasonic to record in 240fps hispeed.
Weighing a meagre 1.2kg and a compact form factor, the EVA is small but mighty. This weight deficit to its competition immediately give it a clear advantage and an aptitude for documentary filmmaking. It's drone and gimbal capabilities should not be ignored either. We mounted the EVA1 plus the fairly weighty XEEN lenses onto a MoviPro with no issues. The camera's slight form factor meant the stabilisation rig accommodated the camera handsomely; much larger and heavier - say with the Ursa Mini Pro, weighing almost twice that of the EVA - and issues would begin to occur along with decreases in stabilisation performance. The camera has standard tripod and bolt attachments (1/4 & 3/8) on the underside and top of the camera body.
Dual-native ISO is a wonderful, peace-of-mind type of feature your lighting and camera team will love. Like the Varicam, the EVA's NI is set at a hugely impressive 800 & 2500, giving you the adaptability to thrive in those lower-light shooting scene where that extra bit more exposure is required without compromising your image. Native ISOs act as baseline light sensitivities where, theoretically, no highlight clipping or no added electronic gain would occur.
The Electronic Image Stabilisation (E.I.S) is a somewhat expected but great feature found on the EVA. A 1.15 sensor crop factor is applied when in use but for an E.I.S system it's expected. Works as well an E.I.S would with no strange warping or defecting. Great for long lens work where absolute stability is required.
The EVA1 comes with dual balanced XLR inputs.
The EVA1 is able to output a raw signal through its 6G SDI output; interestingly, it's also able to output video via its HDMI whilst outputting RAW - one of a few very cool capabilities of the EVA1. This particular feature came in handy when preparing for our spring shoot as it gives small-medium budget crews the ability to easily provide a director's monitor - via HDMI cable or wireless transmission - with a live video signal. Atomos recorder's - bar the Sumo - doesn't allow any active outputs whilst RAW is being recorded, meaning the only way you can get your signal duplicated for monitoring is via the camera's other available video outs - in our case the HDMI. Interesting? Yes, it is.
Stand-out Features
Resolution, Recording & Sensor
First off, the EVA1 has a 5.7k Super 35mm sensor. Despite its somewhat grandiose name, it's not as large as a standard 35mm/FF (I understand these terms are not technically interchangeable but let's just accept it and relax) but it gives you a relative field of view larger than a MFT sensor, and slightly larger than a half-crop DSLR sensor (APS-C/DX). Happy medium?
Panasonic has crammed an outrageous 17,251,520 active pixels (5720 x 3016) into their sensor, almost double the standard for 4K DCI, making it an absolute beast when it comes to resolutions and pixel pitch (although smaller pixels become noisy easier). Who exports at 5.7k though? So this means you'll be downsampling from 5.7k and in turn getting a higher quality resolving image. Does size really matter? Arri cameras have been recording at 3.4k, upsampling to 4k, and they seem to do a pretty good job of it.
But is this the whole tale? It is not. Despite big title-grabbing headlines, the 5.7k sensor read-out only comes when using the camera in its stand-alone 422 ALL-I .mov mode (or the new 5.7k ProResRAW) or below; switch to RAW (Outputted via SDI) or 240fps hispeed and your running at a cropped sensor, in some cases rather severely to a 2.2k 4/3 crop, which isn't totally surprising but definitely something to take heed of. An important consideration of this is that it will make your effective focal length smaller. We had some pretty cagey shots in the film shoot (pictured) and outputting RAW @ 24fps gave us a 4k sensor crop, meaning 14mm lenses became more like 20mm, and 25mm more like a 35mm, roughly; not the end of the world considering the original pixel count of the sensor meaning it could be a lot worse with a different camera boasting fewer pixels. Cameras built with a 4k sensor by default suffer image quality loss through upsampling if the camera must select a 'cropped-in' sensor read when executing stabilisation and hispeed recording, or when cropping and reframing occurs in post-production.
Recording RAW at it's most intensive setting on the Atomos, 10-bit CDNG RAW, we were maxed out using the camera's 4K 'Crop' mode. The EVA1 SDI can output 10-bit 5.7k full-read RAW, but the Atomos cannot fulfil this recording criteria in a RAW format. The Atomos can't process it due to the limitations of its single SSD card and the data rates of EVA's 5.7K RAW are too much for the SATA connectors found on the Atomos Shogun Inferno. It's very important to note that the limitations experienced when outputting RAW almost always falls to Atomos' shortcomings rather than Panasonic's.
The beastiest in-camera recording mode is 5.7k 10-bit 4.2.2 ALL-I 400mbps, able to record up to 29.97. An impressive in-camera recording mode, though with a moderately-high data rate giving you 40 minutes approx with a 128gb card.
'the SDI port will output the same field of view as CROP 4K mode, but employing pixel mixing technology to reduce the frame size to 2,048 x 1,080 pixels, at frame rates between 1 and 240 frames per second.' Raw recording on Atomos Shogun with EVA1
Up to 240fps recording is an impressive milestone, albeit with cropped sensor reads: the sensor allows its full read S35 sensor for up to 60fps, though shrinks to a 2.8k 'crop & mix' for shooting up to 120fps. Interestingly, the 2.8 'crop & mix' actually gives you the the equivalent effective focal length of 4k sensor readout. Up to 240fps you will have to abide by a 4/3 sensor readout. 240fps is sufficient for most traditional filming demands with higher framerate recording usually being derived from specialist cameras such as the Phantom. Stylish slow-motion found in factual documentary usually checks in at around 120fps or less, with animal and nature shooting raising up to 240 or occasionally more. In this respect, the crop sensor readout shrink shouldn't deter the filmmaker much since setups for hispeed are usually premeditated and the necessary framing and compositional issues can usually be combatted beforehand; this isn't to say high FPS shooting doesn't happen spontaneously when the animals spring to action.
IR Cut Filter
A really handy feature, especially for wildlife filmmakers, is the IR cut filter. As a little technical background, almost all cameras have an infrared cut filter in them. Manufacturers do this for a few different reasons: firstly, it's hard to make optics and lenses to accommodate for the visible light spectrum and the infrared spectrum received by a camera's sensor. Part of the reason is that different infrared light have different focusing qualities, making it hard to calibrate a lens; secondly, without the IR filter, the camera will process the collected infrared light and will produce an image with a strange colour, not what we are used to seeing with the human eye. It should be noted, when you filter out the infrared spectrum, you also impact sensitivity negatively, meaning by blocking IR light you also lower light sensitivity which in turn means a 'dimmer' resulting image.
One trick wildlife filmmakers employ when shooting in the dark is to use infrared lights. The trademark 'Starlight' cameras by ammonite use the technology of monochrome sensors and IR cut filters. To avoid disturbing the animals unnecessarily, wildlife crews will throw infrared light onto their animal subjects. Some animals - mammals in particular - like us, cannot see infrared light, alleviating any distraction from bright film lights in the darkness of their night habitat. Crews use cameras without an IR filter and are able to use this 'invisible' light to expose their animal subjects, giving them the ability to 'see' in the dark. The removable IR cut filter may be a feature that has came with the times, the ease of achieving existing levels of technology becomes easier - and cheaper- thus becoming available in subsequent releases. The Varicam, known as the EVA's bigger sibling, does not have a removable IR cut filter, despite its propensity for wildlife productions, though you can manually remove it.
V-LOG
Logarithmic curves - LOG for short - are becoming more common-place in the world of consumer camera technology; even some DSLR + ML cameras have the ability to shoot LOG.
First off, what is LOG? LOG is a way of preserving the dynamic range and tonality of video by distributing exposure more evenly across the captured light signal. The traditional, non-LOG method of recording, records images in a 'Linear' fashion. Linear recording is an example of a 'picture profile' sometimes referred to as an 'exposure curve'. Although, recording by this method doesn't apply any curve to the image, making it a straight line when plotted on a graph, also known as Linear. Logarithmic recording however forms a pronounced curve when plotted on a graph.
Recording in a linear fashion gives you a 'normal' looking image without any post-processing. Recording in LOG gives you a grey, washed-out image that requires post-processing and usually a Look-Up Table (LUT) applied to it.
Stops in exposure are not scientifically linear. A stop in exposure represents a doubling or halving of light. This isn't a fixed, specific value, and it doesn't represent a consistent progression. Think of it like this; for example, if we were to plot a linear scale numerically, the numbers could progress as follows:
10 (+6), 16 (+6), 22 (+6), 28 (+6), 34 etc - going up by +6 each time.
On a logarithmic scale, the numbers wouldn't share this fixed progression:
10 (+10), 20 (+20), 40 (+40), 80 (+80), 160 etc - the jumps between the values are not the same.
On a logarithmic scale, the jumps between numbers 1 & 2 are far less than the jumps between numbers 4 & 5, whereas on a linear scale, they stay the same. It's the differences between each value that makes these methods different.
By recording linearly, the camera's sensor assigns an unnecessary amount of bit depth to the highlights, making for an uneven distribution of light data to the video. Log alleviates this by 'curving' the catchment of processed light, thus attaining an even spread of light data for the resulting video image.
Our eyes respond to light in a logarithmic way!
Light information collected via a lens is converted to electronic information by sensors. In other words, light information and electronic information have a proportional relation. Log curve characteristics show the relationship between the linear domain video signal and exposure measured in stops, and a change in each stop of exposure increases or decreases the signal by almost the same amount. Panasonic V-Log V-Gamut Information Booklet
There are various brands of LOG recording, all with slightly differing curves. S-Log (Sony), Log-C (Arri), C-Log (Canon), and of course V-Log (Panasonic). The EVA's sensor by default records with something called 'V-Gamut'. V-Gamut is Panasonic's chosen colour space on the EVA1 which gives a colour space wider than BT.2020/REC.2020, allowing for an increased potential catchment than seen in standard 4k gamuts.
The Super 35 mm sensor achieves a wide color gamut known as V-Gamut, which is EVA1’s optimum color space and achieves a color space that is wider than BT.2020. V-Log has log curve characteristics that are somewhat reminiscent of negative film and V-Gamut delivers a color space even larger than film.
For this level of camera, a Log recording profile is absolutely essential and it would strange for it not to be included in the package considering the GH4 + 5 both have it, albeit a 'lite' version and by upgrade only.
With the EVA1 V-Log capabilities, 14 stops of dynamic range is produced to make this camera a real performer. It comes on par with most of its competition but just shy of the Ursa Mini Pro's 15 stops.
NDs
One of the things doing wonders for its direct rival, the FS7 II, is its variable ND filters. No such thing exists here and it EVA1 comes equipped with 0.6, 1.2, 1.8 ND respectively. Variable NDs are more of a luxury when shooting, so these run-of-the-mill NDs do suffice.
Practical Considerations
Being the little charmer that it is comes with a few niggling things you'll have to deal with. The camera runs off standard lithium HDV batteries, available in various different sizes. The camera does not natively accept V-Lock batteries, meaning D/P-Tap fed devices cannot be fed by your camera, they'll have to look elsewhere or rely on internal power, which is not ideal when in remote locations. A solution could be to mount a fairly cumbersome V-Lock plate to your rig but there becomes a point when it becomes counter intuitive due to the weight and size. A great solution to this dilemma was a HDV battery with single D-Tap out for powering our wireless transmitter and follow focus. This really makes you much more versatile when it comes to powering other camera devices without being tethered to a plug socket.
Once the EVA1 is harnessed in a practical on-set environment, you realise its versatility as a cinema cinema that can churn out beautiful images for dramas, but also as a cunning companion for documentary shooting. The menu system on the Panasonic are really easy to understand. It didn't take long whatsoever to get to grips with how everything is setup and where to look. I worked on shoots where the RED One is the weapon of choice and I'll tell you now, the EVA1 is much easier, though it doesn't take a lot to make something more straight-forward than the RED One. As is with camera operation, once you're on-set, 80% of the cameras setting are locked in from the start and only adjustments for exposure and other specialist things need to be changed thereafter. I'm a guy that likes a large, comprehensive menu system. It gives me peace-of-mind that all bases have been covered and everything is running at its optimum level, and I like that. The Panasonic's menu doesn't differ too much from what Sony provide on their FS range cameras, it's the same basic principles. One thing the EVA does really well is its ability to customise display feeds. You can decide what you specifically see on each of the displays your feeding (Viewfinder, HDMI, SDI). For example, In our shoot, we used 2 Atomos units: one for recording and one as a director's monitor, each fed via HDMI & SDI respectively. What we could do was decide what information we saw on each: markers, safety lines, settings information (battery, FPS, EIS etc), menu displays, playback. This could be best utilised on a corporate set when sending a feed to a client monitor, holding back all extraneous settings and things you want to hide from the them. 'Masking' your V-Log footage with a Rec709 LUT can also be applied with these settings, avoiding questions from clients about the recording looking very pale.
Having dual ISOs to chose from on-set was such a reassuring exposure buffer. It meant when operating in optimal ISO settings, the lighting team didn't have to throw so much unnecessary light on the scene to satisfy the camera's exposure requirements. Switching between both is easy, in fact there's a setting which allows you to choose between them with a turn of a wheel. In a situation without studio lights or very minimal artificial light, like a wildlife shoot for example, switching up to 2500 would give you that nice bit of freedom when shooting around twilight, paired with a fast lens you could stay at this optimum sensitivity settings close approaching darkness.
For less image-intensive filming, say when your filming observationally for a wildlife production and you don't want to be maxing out datarates, the best option in my opinion is the EVA's 4k* 400mbps ALL-I 10-bit 4.2.2 .movs encoded in H.264. Reliable All-I frames with an impressive 400mbps bitrate will be suitable for most medium-sized documentary productions destined for broadcast. A 4.2.2 10-bit bit depth coupled with a 4k resolution image is a particularly impressive trait for natural history productions when gathering landscape, macro and observational footage from picturesque environments, allowing the camera to exploit these environments and do them full justice. The benchmark this camera has set will stay fresh for at least the near-future and I believe will establish itself as a reliable piece of technical equipment for a manner of different production.
*The EVA's 5.7k sensor downsamples the recorded video to 4k, allowing you to benefit from the richer colour and sharpness.
Conclusion
I think the best word to describe this camera would be versatility. The EVA can as easily be used as a cinema camera for short film shoots as it can be for wildlife shoots. Light and small with very capable recording capabilities in the form of 5.7k 10-bit 4.2.2 video (or RAW is you opt to use ProResRAW) and 240fps hispeed. It's one of the best value for money camera purchases around at the moment with its attractiveness further bolstered by its EF lens mount, Atomos recorder affinity, Varicam-similarities (Colourimetry, Sensor), dual-ISO, removable IR cut filter and 14 stops of dynamic range. It may lack a handful of features where the competition trumps the EVA's tech set: Ursa Mini Pro's 12G SDI outs allow for 4k60 12-bit RAW (thought the EVA1 outputs 12-bits also), the FS7 II's variable NDs, the C300's 12-bit internal RAW, what's lost is made up where the EVA1 counters its competition.